Aww...that would be fun! I've lived here for years. We don't currently have a vegetarian restaurant, but there are quite a few restaurants with vegan options. I don't know much about the vegan scene honestly...I'm kind of a homebody.

I had a beau in Knoxville and spent a ton of time there. I liked it. Not a ton of vegan places, but some very good vegan-friendly ones like the Tomato Head. There's a great coop, and Earth Fare groceries which have all the usual vegan goodies. It's definitely more of a big University sports town, but there are funky pockets like the Old City area.

Tzippy will be more helpful than me on this, but I find Knoxville to be quite spread out. When I've been there, I have car and drive everywhere, and find it not especially public transportation friendly.

It's not very public transportation friendly. If you are near campus/downtown, there is a trolley (well, they call it a trolley and it's made to look like one, but it's really just a bus) and there is KAT (Knox Area Transit--the bus system), but there are many areas that KAT doesn't service and even when it gets you in walking distance of somewhere, we have a lack of sidewalks.

how is it for biking? like, I was used to commuting in chicago on a bike, which didn't suck at all because the roads were pretty wide and it was pretty well maintained, but philadelphia commuting was the worst because it's all narrow sidestreets and potholes the size of kansas.

I'd probably be in the UT area a lot

_________________Space has stared into the tiny syrup holes of our shame and it does not judge us. - Amandabear

I think it's okay for biking. We do have greenways, but they have this annoying habit of not connecting to each other at times. Lots of people do commute by bike, though. My boyfriend used to until we temporarily had to move a half hour's drive from work. Driver's aren't the best at, well...driving in general, but especially around bikes. I think that's true in lots of places, though.

And it does get hot here, but I'm from the south, so I'm used to it. This summer was much hotter than usual, though.

It depends on where you are and where you are going. In certain parts of town there are tons of bikes, bus routes are handy. I live close to downtown and ride the bus to school. I couldn't throw a rock within a two mile radius and not hit at least three bicyclists. The coop even has a little bike maintenance station (air for tires, doodads for fixing whatnots). In the happy little world I generally stay in, people are great, bikes and buses everywhere, people are nice, sidewalks everywhere. Also, it is legal to ride your bike on sidewalks in this town, as long as you follow the rules, yield to pedestrians.

BUT. 1.) People around here, especially further away from downtown, can be strangely angered by anyone who isn't in a car/truck. Etiquette towards cyclists or even pedestrians can be a bit sparse. 2.) If you ride a bike around here, watch out for the Tennessee Rolling Stop. 3.) There are bike lanes, but they make no sense. Some last for blocks, perfectly laid out. Others last for half a block and abruptly end for no reason. People are still trying to drive their cars in some of the newer bike lanes (again, not-cars cause great confusion).

Well, I'm going to be the cynic here. I'm from E. Tenn but moved back to Knoxville from Minneapolis, just to let you know where I'm coming from. Riding a bike in Knoxville is kind of hell. If you're East/downtown it's not so awful (except for the hills); so if you are coming here to be a student, then that might work out for you. But going anywhere else in city (North, South, or especially West) there's pretty much no where to ride a bike; cars are aggressive, bike lanes are mostly non-existance, and greenways are not set up for transportation (they don't really connect to anything important, they are made for week-end recreation) Also, roads are terribly maintained, broken up, and scattered with glass. That said, there are a couple of cool bike shops and a small, kind of snotty but existent, bike community. As far as veganness goes, there is a co-op which is pretty awesome and getting more so every day, a good farmer's market, and yes, a trader joe's (out West) and a couple of Earth Fares (also out West).

Hey, Knoxville- My inlaws are in the area now and want to bring us back vegan stuff. Where can they find marshmallows? Do vegan donuts exist there??? These are my main wishes, but tell me if you have anything magical at all please!

I think the only place to find vegan marshmallows is Three Rivers Market (the co-op). I've seen Dandie's there before. I think I saw Sweet and Sara post recently that they are now available in Earth Fare, but I haven't checked the two locations here to see if that's true.

No doughnuts! I second Three Rivers Market as the only sure place to get a marshmallow. Tell them to load up at TRM--they have tons of yummy stuff! If they have a way to keep stuff cold, there are a couple of locally-made vegan desserts in the beverage cooler by the front. They have cake, cheesecake, etc. If they have it, I recommend the tempeh salad from the deli case!